


Warmth

by HealthInspector



Series: PMD Writings [6]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon
Genre: Canon: Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon, F/M, Fluff, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-28
Updated: 2019-12-28
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:01:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21996415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HealthInspector/pseuds/HealthInspector
Summary: As fragmented memories of Aster's old life return, he finds himself missing one particular aspect of the human world. Vallea does what she can to help.(Short, fluffy, Christmas-themed oneshot.)
Relationships: Partner Pokemon/Player Character (Pokemon Mystery Dungeon)
Series: PMD Writings [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1395541
Comments: 1
Kudos: 14





	Warmth

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place after PSMD's postgame.
> 
> Original prompt: It’s December, and the Hero finds themselves missing Christmas (or some other holiday similar to Christmas) as it is not known or celebrated by Pokémon.

Lively Town was white.

As if on cue, thousands of little snowflakes had plummeted from the clouds and covered the city. Once-colorful roofs had their tinges and hues smothered by the snow, leaving them a pale grey. The roads were practically untraversable; there had to have been at least two meters of snow on the ground. Nobody was eager to go out in this weather, least of all Vallea.

The Riolu had spent her morning trying (and failing) to clear the snow covering the road leading to the Expedition Society Headquarters. Aster, her Treecko partner, had made an attempt to help. But the snow kept falling as if it were mocking their efforts, undoing several hours’ worth of work in minutes. Eventually, they had given up and retreated to the warmth of their room.

Vallea sat in her bed, a blanket draped over her shoulders. The room itself was dark and dreary. It was hard for the sun to shine when so many clouds covered it, and the few rays that broke through were weak and pale. One candle hardly seemed like enough to light the room, but it was all she could find in the building. The tiny flame's light flickered and sputtered in the cold. She shivered, pulling the blanket tighter around herself.

"You're cold," said Aster.

The Treecko sat on the floor against the wall. His aura almost seemed to tremble as he stared out the window. Something was bothering him.

"Yeah," said Vallea. Then: "Something's on your mind, isn't it?"

"Nah. I'm just zoning out."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah." He didn't meet her eyes. Gloom emanated from him, clear as day.

Vallea shook her head, then scooted closer to him. "Come on, we've been over this! Didn't we agree to talk it out when things were bothering us?"

"I'm just..." He sighed, and his aura deflated a bit. Turning to face her, he said, "I'm just feeling homesick, that's all."

"Homesick? Do you mean for Serene Village?" Speaking quickly, she continued, "Because I was actually thinking we could go visit! Once the snow clears up, we can-"

"No, it's not that. I meant the human world."

"Oh." Vallea thought for a moment, then said, "Is there anything in particular that you miss?"

He gave a hollow laugh, staring up at the ceiling. "It's stupid, really. I'm pretty sure that around this time of year, humans would go around and buy each other gifts and stuff. It was a huge deal, they'd even wrap up the gifts in this fancy paper. But... We don't have anything like that here. So I was just missing it."

"Well, of course we don't have that," said Vallea. "Why wait for a specific time of year to give gifts? Why not just do it whenever you like?"

"Beats me. Maybe they wanted to make it a big deal or something," said Aster.

Vallea tilted her head. "So why do you miss it?"

"I guess I just like the idea of it. You know, imagine dozens of people and Pokemon getting together to give each other stuff. It's like they're all saying, 'I love you this many Pokedollars' worth!'" said Aster, spreading his paws out like he was measuring something.

Vallea giggled. "Yeah, I guess I get why you miss that gift-giving thing. It sounds like a lot of fun!"

His gaze dropped to the floor as he murmured, "It really does. I wonder what it's like?"

"Well, what do you say we find out?"

"W-wait, what?" He looked back up, his aura twitching slightly.

"You heard me. You and me, we're gonna go out there and buy each other gifts! And when you see my gift, you'll know exactly how much my love is worth!" She spread her paws out as far as they would go, and the blanket fell from her shoulders. "Thi-i-i-i-is much!"

Aster grinned and went faintly pink. "Alright, fine. You wanna see how much my love is worth?"

"Yeah, let's see it!"

He spread his own paws out. "This much. See, my arms are longer than yours, so the distance between my paws is greater, and therefore my love is worth more."

"Hmph." Vallea looked away in mock anger, pulling her blanket tightly around herself. "Just wait until you see my gift. I can promise it'll blow yours out of the water."

"Yeah, right. Few have ever matched my gift-giving capabilities. Why, I once outgifted a Delibird!"

Letting his blatant lie go unchallenged, she declared, "Well, I have aura on my side! I can read all of your thoughts, so I'll know exactly what you want!"

He laughed again, and this time it was genuine. "That's not how aura works," he said.

"You don't know that. Who's the one with the aura tassels? I think I know more about these things than you do, you silly leaf-brain."

Still chuckling, Aster looked away and shook his head. Then he met her eyes, his aura swelling. "You know, I, uh..."

"You what?"

"I just... Thanks. For the gift thing, I mean. I promise you won't be disappointed." He touched his neck where a scarf was conspicuously absent. After a deep breath, he reached forward and hugged her.

Vallea's neck felt warm where his arms wrapped around her. She smiled and said, "You know I can't hug you back, right? My arms are still in this blanket."

"Then why don't you fix that?"

"Mmm... I don't know," she said. "It's kinda cold in this room, and I just got myself all warm and cozy."

"C'mon, Lea. I'm cold too. And it'll be warmer with the two of us," he said.

"...Alright, fine, you win. Get in here." 


End file.
